The arrival, storage and shipment of goods to, in and from warehouses, factories and other large industrial facilities plays an essential role in the daily operation of many businesses. In order for these facilities to be run efficiently and profitably, it is important that the movement of goods is accurately tracked. Historically, goods have been tracked through the use of paper-intensive record systems. However, with the ever-increasing amount of goods being shipped and the myriad of shipping channels presently available, the need has arisen for more accurate tracking systems that do not generate the paper trail associated with previous systems. Further, the large size of many industrial facilities has spurred the need for accurate tracking systems that may be transported and operated at locations remote from a central tracking office.
In response to these needs, computerized data input terminals associated with central product and inventory databases are quickly replacing manual paper-based tracking systems. These terminals can efficiently track the movement of goods by eliminating much of the time, paperwork and human error associated with manual tracking of these goods. These terminals are used in warehouses and factories by forklift drivers, shipping and receiving clerks or other warehouse or factory personnel to track the arrival, storage and shipment of goods. Many of these conventional data input terminals include a housing with a handle, a face with a display, and a bar code scanner or means for connecting the terminal to a bar code scanner.
Presently, due to the prevalent use of bar codes for identifying and tracking goods, terminals having bar code scanners offer terminal operators a quick and easy way of obtaining information either from the containers in which particular goods are stored or from the goods themselves. By utilizing a data terminal with a scanner, a terminal operator avoids the cumbersome task of repeatedly typing data into the terminal via a terminal keypad. The terminal operator also need not worry about correctly reading the data from a product's label while he or she is typing the information into the terminal.
However, data terminals with scanners have associated drawbacks. Factories and warehouses are often dirty and damp and fluctuate widely in temperature. Terminal operators often do not use the utmost of care in handling and operating the terminals. As a result, the terminals often accumulate dirt and condensation and are exposed to a tremendous amount of abuse. Due to the fact that many of the scanners associated with these data terminals employ sensitive visible red scanning technology, the aforementioned dirt, condensation and/or abuse can cause the scanners to malfunction. Unless the data terminals have a backup method of data entry, the data terminals are rendered inoperative if and when the scanners malfunction. Also, important data not contained in the bar code information may need to be entered. This data is incapable of being entered by terminals having only a scanner form of data entry.
Data terminals with alternate keypad data entry systems avoid the aforementioned problem. If the scanner malfunctions on such a system, the terminal operator may continue to operate to the terminal by manually entering inventory data through the terminal keypad. Similarly, a terminal operator may enter data that could not otherwise be entered by a scanner, thus eliminating the need for the operator to record the data through written means. While not as fast and efficient as the scanner mode of data entry, .the keypad mode of entry minimizes terminal down-time due to scanner malfunction and scanner repair and offers the terminal operator greater flexibility in data entry functions.
As is often the case, however, warehouses often have poor lighting. The poor lighting makes it difficult to gather data from inventory shipping labels on the containers of goods in the warehouse. Even if a warehouse or factory is well lit, a terminal operator using a data input terminal with a keypad entry system at times must crawl between stacks of palletized goods, underneath storage shelves or through other limited access areas, which are difficult to light, to gather data from inventory shipping labels.
Even with the physical space taken by the keypad, a handheld data terminal with a keypad entry system should still have a display that is large enough to present a significant amount of information to the terminal operator to enhance ease of use of the terminal. However, as the size of the terminal display is increased, the space remaining for the terminal keys is decreased as a result.
As a result, the size of the terminal keys must either be decreased or the keys must be placed in closer proximity to each other. Subsequently, a terminal operator may experience difficulty in entering data, and thus commit data entry errors, if data entry keys are not of adequate size. A terminal operator also may experience difficulty in entering data if data entry keys are placed too closely to one another on the terminal, especially if the operator's hands and fingers are large. Regardless, a terminal must have enough input and command keys to allow an operator, in the absence of or during the malfunction of the terminal bar code scanner, to adequately enter appropriate product tracking information.
In addition, warehouses and factories are typically large facilities, often covering hundreds of thousands or even millions of square feet of floor space. A terminal operator must often cover a significant amount of territory in performing a daily data gathering routine. In covering this territory, a terminal operator often performs other physical tasks simultaneously with gathering data, such as climbing a ladder, driving a forklift or operating some other piece of machinery. Presently, many data terminals with keypad entry systems are not balanced and are designed so that the terminal operator must stop whatever task he or she is performing to hold the terminal in one hand and enter data with the other hand. These data entry terminals can thus make the operators' jobs even more difficult as the operators perform their jobs throughout the warehouse or factory over the course of a day.
In summary, a computerized hand-held data entry terminal with a large display limits the number of data input keys that can be provided on the face of the terminals, and thus limits the data gathering functions of the terminal. A terminal with a large number of data input keys limits the size of the terminal display and makes the display difficult to read in less than optimal warehouse and factory conditions. When a handheld terminal has an adequately sized display (the minimum desirable size of a terminal display is 16 .times. 20 characters) and the desired number of input keys, the operator often experiences the aforementioned problems with the terminal due to the large terminal size, the terminal weight and the corresponding improper terminal balance.
Thus, a need exists in the art for an ergonomically-balanced wireless handheld data entry terminal that has a scanner for data entry and an alternate keypad data entry system. The terminal must have both a display large enough to read in low visibility conditions and a plurality of multi-function keys that gives the data terminal a wide variety of data gathering functions. Further, a need also exists in the art for a wireless handheld data entry terminal designed in a manner that facilitates ease of data entry with one hand so that data can be entered simultaneously with the performance of another physical task by the terminal operator. Finally, a need exists in the art for a wireless handheld data entry terminal that is balanced and lightweight enough to facilitate ease of use, even when the terminal operator must cover a large area and carry it over the course of an entire day.